Aerofoil



Ju'ne 11, 1935.

5. TREY ETAL AEROFOIL Filed Nov. 24, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l WWII/WES:Serge 71mg, Mlliam Howard and fllamnder flies/81h,

111m ATTORNEY June 11, 1935. s. TREY ET AL 2,004,255

AEROFOIL Filed Nov. 24, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 I /II// will/11111910,I,

7mm ATTORNEY and fllexander (Ice/$5" June 11, 1935. s. TREY ET AL IAEROFOIL Filed Nov. 24 1950 3 Sheets-Shget 3 w 6 WWZ mm ATTORNEYPatented June 1 1, I 1935 1 UNITED STATES PAT EN OFFICE AEROFOII d dSerge :Trey and William Howard, CollegePoint,

and Alexander Chessin, Brooklyn, N. Y, Application November 24,1930,"Ser ial No. 497,708

' Our invention relatesto aeroplane wings and, more particularly, toaerofoils having rotors at their leading edges.

Theinvention has several purposes in View, the

I principal objects being: inoreasedlifting capacity a more eificientform of propulsion, avoidanceof "accidents to the propelling means byconfining it within the wing structure, ability to regulate the ratio oflift to dragypossibility of hovering in the air, diminished danger, ofnose dives andtail spins,

- and greateriover-all efiiciency of the plane.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top view of an aeroplane" embodying ourinvention; Figure 2'is 1 a side elevation of the same device; Figure 3is a top View of a similar aeroplane but withthe addition of a standardpropeller; Figure 4 is a vertical 7 'cross section taken along the line4-4 of Figure 5, i

l the latterbeing a top view of the aerofoil shown lage and 2 are thewings of an aeroplane flAt rotated by means of the worm 26.

:the leading edgeof the wingor aerofoil Zis a hollow, cylindrical rotor3 provided along its peripheral surface with slots d. The axleFi of therotor 3 is mounted in'a housing 6 within the fusej cases whereadditional speed is desired "(see lage l and is rotated by means of atrain composed of the beveled gears 1 and pulleys 8 and 9,

the latter being rotated by thetengine Ill. The

axle 5 is supported in bearings Hheld bymeans of braces I 2 and M, thebraces I2 and 14' being secured, respectively, at 13 and 1.5, tothe sideplates I6 attached to the aerofoil 2. The aerofoils 2 are furtherconnected to the fuselage l by means of rods I! which are fixed, at oneend, to the side plates I 6. At the other end, the rods I] passthroughslots l8 in, the fuselage I andjare provided with flanges l9having ears .20 and 2|. From the ear 2!], a wire 22 passesover apulley23 onto the drum 24 uponwhich it is wound, and thence to the ear 2| To.the druml l is fixed, coaxially therewith, a worm gear25 which ise-latter is operated by means of the handle 21., l I

, At the leading edge of the aerofoil 2, over the rotor 3, is a scrolledhood, 28, at the end of which is an aileron 29 mounted to turn on anaxle 30. The inclination of the aileron 29 isflcontrolled in anysuitable manner. As an illustration, there is 30 Claims. (cred--18) d di shownh ere an arm 3! rigidly afiixed, at oneend,

to the aileron 29, and, at the other, 32, secured to a spring 33attachedto theside plate [6 at 34., From the end 32 of the arm3l, a wire or'cord36 passes over pul1eys3'l, 38 and 39, to a point of the control stick40. Anosepiece 4| may be added for a proper formation of the leadingedge.

The slotted rotor 3, as shown, has a central plate 42 and two end rings43, to which are attached in any suitable manner, as by rivetingor toflow tangentially to the rotor, and they are so fspaced as to make theslots 14 wider at the area "of intake, marked by the letter i inFigured, than at the area of outlet, marked bytheletter 0. r

In speakingfof the area of inlet or of outlet,flit is surface. Thecentral plate 42; is integral with spot welding, or botlnthe blades,made in two parts, 44' and44. The blades 44', 44", are so curvedas tocause the centrifugally expelled air .j to be understood, of course,that the areaconsideredisthat of a cross section normal (i. e.perpendicularto the tangent) to the slot boundary the axle 5 of therotor 3 andwith the reinforcements 45. l The curved conical shape of thereihforcernents 45 facilitates the suctionof air into the cylinder fromitsjopen'ends. The side plates 15 are provided with openings conformingto the I open ends ofthe rotor, i. e. they have circular holes of adiameter'equal to the eter of the rotor 3, sot hatlthe side plates l6cover the ends of the rotor blades 44", 44".

Astandard propeller 46 may be added in some Figured);

Referring more particularly tqFigures 7 and 8, a combination, of asmooth rotorwith a slotted smooth rotor at its leading edge isineveryfway similar to the aerofoil disclosed in the copending applicationof oneof the present applicants,

Ser. No. 295274. The rotor has alsmooth portion '3' in the middle andtwo slotted portions 3 at the ends. The slotted portions areidenticalwith the rotors shown in Figures 4 andj5Q The aerofoil extends overthefuselage, as against the construction shown in Figure '1 with theaerofoils situated on each side of theffuselage. The wing ,ispivotinternal diami [rotor is shown. The portion ofthe wing havinga allyconnected at to.thes trut14l,,.and, at 50, I

to the rod 49 operated by a hydraulic jack 5l The sections of the winghaving slotted rotors are separated from the section having a smoothrotor by side plates [6 similar to the end side plates Hi.

In all of the figures, the profile of the aerofoil is in accordance,withthe constructiondisclosed in the aforesaid application Ser. No.295274, i.'e.,

the upper surface of the wing has a concave portion adjacent the rotorfollowed by a convex portion ending at the trailing edge. The lowersurface of the 'aerofoil, as shown, has a convex camber which is one ofthe forms specified in the above mentioned application although notillustrated therein.

It will be noted that, in the case of the combination slotted andsmoothrotors, the profiles of the sections 2 and 2- of the aerofoil havethe same general characteristics and conform to the constructiondisclosed in the aforesaid application Ser. No. 295274, but they neednot be identical in shape, or of the same dimensions.

It should, further, be noted that the form .of

the profile of the wing does not cons itute a partof the presentinvention which is independent of the profile and may be combined with awing oi any shape, although it is preferred to have the aerofoil profileas shown, i. e. with an upper surface-having a concave'portion adjacentthe rotor, followed by a convex portion ending at the trailing-edge, andan under surface having a convex camber, because of the higherefliciency of such a profile when an aerofoil is provided with a rotorat its leading edge.

While a centrifu al blower has been shown 'here, located at'the leadingedge of the aerofoil,

.it-should be understoodthat we do not mean to limit ourselves to thisparticular embodiment of our invention. The means for creating the airstream over the. topsurface of the aerofoil need not-be located at theleading edge, so long as the createdstream is made to emanate from underthe hoodand'is directed over the top surface of the aerofoil.Toillustrate this point, we have shown, in 'Figure 9, somewhatschematically, an arrangement wherein the stream of air is createdelsewhere than at the leading edge. As shown in Figure 9, the air:stream is created by a compressor- 52lwithin the fuselage i and isledinto the aerofoilbyv means of the manifold 53, whence it passesthroughthe channel 54, at the leading edge of the aerofoil, under the hood 2,8and over the top surface of theaerofoil-E; However, the centrifugalblower at the leading edge, and, more particularly, the slottedcylindrical rotor, appears tobe the most efficient and, therefore,preferablefor n of the means for creating the air flow over the, topsurface of the areofoil.

The main objects of our invention have been xnentioned'in the preamble.Experiments in our tunnel, inthe cityof New .York, have shown that thelifting capacity of an aerofoil embodying our invention isfar in excessof that obtainable in wings of standard construction. This is due, forthe most part, to the scientifically correct aerodynamic conditions. Thegreatly increased air velocity over the top wing surface is accomplishedwithoutanyburblingior vortices. The propulsion is more effective, also,because the displacement of air is where it produces the maximumresults. When a standard propeller is used, the displace ment of. theair is cylindrical, whereas, in the aerofoil embodying our invention,the displacement is in sheet form over the top surface of the wing.Besides, by confining the propelling means Within the wing structure,the danger of accidents to a propeller is eliminated. Another safetyfeature is the greatly diminished chance of a nose dive. or tail spin.This is due to the fact that, in a-wing embodying. our invention, thecenter of pressure does not materially. change its position whentheangle of incidence is changed. In the standard wings of today, thecenter of pressure trated it-in several .ernbodirne ts t moves in adirection such as to enhance the tendency developed by the plane, i. e.the center of pressure moves forward when the tail of the wing dips,and. it moves backward when the nose of the plane dips; in other worcs,the center of pressure moves in a direction such at to de-stabilize theplane. In a wing embodying our invention, the center of pressure eitherremains stationary or, if it moves at all, itdoes so in a directientowards stabilization of the plane. Among the objects of the inventionwas tioned t1 e ability to regulate the ratio of lift to drag. This isaccomplished by the arrangement shown in the drawings whereby the wingmay be inclined relatively to .the fuselage. In this arrangement, thefuselage remains horizontal, if so desired. As the angle between thewing and the. fuselage increases, the lift increases, while the dragdecreases. At a certain angle, which depends on the specific structuralfeatures and diman i n f he pl n there wil be o p opulsion at all, onlylift, i. e heplane will hoverin the air. For an experimental wing builtin connection with h ov ment oned unnel xperimen h hovering nslewa bout7.

Th p p lsi nz effect d theut p pe ler. p p p a na by dere opinsanesativedr s- How v er sno h-ine to p v n one from ddi ta ar rrop lle o th devce. as is illustrated in Figure 3; as, for instance, in the case Where ati nal spe d is esir d- Having ully des rib d our nve tion and ill nd sa in ha t ese illust a ions sen e in ded s onsi ered o her y se ski e nh art we cla n f i m ris s m a s. t and W thin e adine dse ere ffw e t na stream of ai a hood xtendin om a d eedins ed o d r ct nssa d s reamver he o ur a e Gf d aerofoil, a d n-ei eronion he an 91 a d n a oei-leomp is nsmean stand it in the leading edge thereof for creating astream of a h odxexte dinsfmm a d ead neede for directing said stream,over the top surface of said aerofoil, an aileron-at the end of saidhood, and mea s o h n in h nel r a ionn a d ai e n- A aerofoil comprisinme ns s and W in the leading edge thereoifor-creatinga stream of air, ahoodextending fron said leading edge for directingsaid stream over thetop surface of p said aerofoil, and side plates on said'aerofoilprojecting'beyonditssurfaceand extending at least as .far as thesurfaceof said ho od.

4- A e o il c mp sin a nt i u al blower at its leading edge, a hood oversaid blowerior directing the air actuated by said blower over thetopsurface of said aerofoil, and an aileron at the end of. saidhood.

5. An aerofoilcornprising acentrifugal blower atitsleadingedge, a hood;over saidblower for A directing the air actuated by saidblower over thetop surface-of said-aerofoil, and sideplates on said aerofoil projectingbeyond-its surface and extending at least as far asthe surface of saidhood.

6. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge,

a rotor open at its ends for the admission of air thereinto and providedwith openings along its peripheral, surfacefor the passage ofsaid air,

ands ead ove sa d ro o f r i e iins id i 7. An aerofoilxcomprising, atits leading edge,

8. Anaerofoil comprising, at its leading edge,

a rotor open at its ends for the admission of air thereinto and providedwith openings. along its peripheral surface for the passage of said air,a hood over said rotor for directing said air from said peripheralopenings over the top surface of 1 said aerofoil, and side plates onsaidaerofoil projecting beyond its surface and extending at.

least as far as thes'urface of said hood, said plates being; providedwith openingslconforniing withthe open ends of said rotor. i

9. An aerofoil comprising, i at its leading edge,

a r otor open at its endsforth'e admission of air thereinto and providedwith openings along its peripheral surface for the passage of said air,a scrolled hood over saidrotor fordirecting said air from saidperipheral openings over the top surface of said aerofoiLan aileron atthe end of" said hood, means for changing the inclination of saidaileron, and side plates on said aerofoil projecting beyond its surfaceand extending at least as far as the surface of said hood, said'plates'be- 1 ing provided with openings conforming to the openends ofsaid rotor.

10. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, an open end, hollow,cylindrical rotor with slots along its peripheral surface, and a hoodover said rotor;

11; An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, an open end, hollow,cylindrical rotor provided with slots along its peripheralsurface, ascrolled hood over saidrotor, and an aileron at the end of said hood.

12. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge,- an open end, hollow,-cylindrical rotor provided with slots along its peripheral surface, ascrolled.

hood over said rotor, and sidep'lates on said aerofoil projecting beyondits surface and extending at least as far as the surface of said hood,said plates having openings conforming to the open ends of said rotor.

13. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge} anopen end, hollow,cylindrical rotor provided with slots along its peripheral surface, ascrolled hood over said rotor, an aileron at.the end of said hood, sideplates on said aerofoil projecting beyond its surface and extending atleast as far as the surface of said hood, said plates having openingsconforming to the open ends of, said rotor, and means for changing theinclination of said aileron.

14. An aerofoil, comprising, at its leading edge, an open end, hollow,cylindrical rotor provided with slots along its peripheral surface, theareas of the transverse sections of said slots being greater at theintake end than at the outlet end. a

15. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, an open end, hollow,cylindrical rotor provided with curved slots along its peripheralsurface, the transverse sections of said slots gradually diminishing inarea from the intake endto the outlet end. i

16. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge,

provided convex camber. l i

20; An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, a rotor open at itsends for the admission of air and said blades being so spaced as to benearer an open end, hollow, cylindrical rotor provided *with bladesalong its peripheral surface, parallel to the axis of saidrotor andhaving curved trans- .verse sections, the curyature of said blades beingsuchas to direct air tangentially to said rotor, 1

one. another at the discharge end than at the ingress end. l

17. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, an open end cylindricalrotor provided with blades along itsperipheral surface, parallel to theaxis of said .rotor 'andhaving curved transverse sectionspthe curvatureof said blades being such as 1 'to direct airtangentially to said rotor,and said blades being so spaced as to be nearer one another at thedischarge end than at the ingress end, and means for directingair fromthe open ends of said rotor into the space between said blades.

1910p aerofoilcomprising, at its leading edge, an open endcylindricalrotor provided with slots alongits peripheralsurface, a scrolled hoodover said rotor, an aileron at the end of saidhood,

means for changing the inclination of said aileron, and side plates onsaid aerofoil projecting beyond its surface and extending at least asfar as the surface of said hood, said plates being provided withopenings conforming to the open ends of said rotor, the upper surface ofsaid aerofoil havby a convex portion ending at the trailing edge, andthe lower surface of said aerofoil thereinto and provided withopeningsralong a 18. An aerofoil comprising,atits leading edge, an openend cylindrical rotor provided with slots having. a concave portionadjacent said rotor fol- ,lowed by edge. I

-ing a concave portion adjacent said rotor followed having a portionofits peripheral surface for the passage of said air, and a scrolled hoodover the portion of said rotor having said peripheral openings fordirecting the air from said peripheral openings over the top surface ofsaid aerofoil.

21. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, a rotor open at itsends for the admission of thereinto and providedwith openings along theend portions of its peripheral surface for the passage of saidair, andscrolled hoods over said 9 end portions of the rotor for directing theair from said peripheral openings over the top surface i of saidaerofoil. e 22. An. aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, a rotoropen at its ends for the admission of air thereinto and providedwithopenings along the sage of said air, scrolled hoods over said endportions of the rotor, side plates on said aerofoil, and platesseparating the portions of said aerofoil corend portions of itsperipheral surface for the pasresponding to the end portions ofsaidrotor from 23. An aerofoil comprising, at its leading edge, a rotoropenat the ends for the admission of air portion of itsperipheralsurface for the passage of said air, a scrolled hood over theportion of said rotor having said peripheral openings, an aileron theremaining portion of said aerofoil, all of said .1

thereinto and provided with openings along a i at the end'of saidhood,and side plates separating the portion of said aerofoil corresponding tothe portion of said rotor having said peripheral openings from theremaining portion of said aerofoil, said plates projecting beyond thesurface of said aerofoil and extending at least as far as the surface ofsaid hood, and having openings conforming to the open ends of saidrotor.

24. The combination with a fuselage, of an aerofoil in variable angularrelation thereto, comprising means for creating a stream of air at itsleadedge, a hood extending from said leading edge for directing saidstream over the top surface of said aerofoil, and means for changing thedirection of said stream by varying the inclination of said aerofoilrelatively to said fuselage.

25. The combination with a fuselage, of an aerofoil in variable angularrelation thereto and comprising, at its leading edge, a centrifugalblower, a hood over said blower for directing air from said blower overthe top surface of said aerofoil, and means for changing the directionof flow of said air by varying the inclination of said aerofoilrelatively to said fuselage.

26. The combination with a fuselage, of an aerofoil in variable angularrelation thereto and comprising, at its leading edge, an open endcylindrical rotor provided with slots along its peripheral surface, ascrolled hood'over said rotor for directing air from said'slots over thetop surface of said aerofoil, and means for changing the direction offlow of said air by varying the inclination of said aerofoil relativelyto said fuselage.

27. An aerofoil comprising means for creating a stream of air at theleading edge thereof, said air being admitted at the outer ends of saidleading edge, and a hood over said leading edge for directing saidstream over the top surface of said aerofoil.

28. An aerofoil comprising a centrifugal blower at its leading edgeprovided with means for adrnitting air at the outer ends of said leadingedge, and a hood over said blower for directing the air actuated by saidblower over the top surface of said aerofoil.

29. An aerofoil comprising mechanical means at and within the leadingedge thereof for creating a stream of air, said air being admitted atthe outer ends of said leading edge, and a hood over said leading edgefor directing said stream over the top surface of said aerofoil.

30. An aerofoil comprising a centrifugal blower, at and within itsleading edge, provided with means for admitting air at the outer ends ofsaid leading edge, and a hood over said blower for directing the airactuated by the blower over the top surface of said aerofoil.

SERGE TREY. WILLIAM HOWARD.

ALEXANDER CHESSIN.

